I follow the light, my feet touching nothing, and it’s as if I’m flying. The wind picks up around me, and I move closer to something in the distance. It’s another golden plate, just like the one at King Munmu’s tomb. When I reach it, I set the amulet into the hole as before, and I’m sucked inside.
The darkness fades, and wavering before me is Haemosu’s throne room. I glance over my shoulder, but the plate I walked through has disappeared. The air shimmers, and as it settles, I slide the amulet back into its pouch and stuff the amethyst into my jeans pocket.
I swing my bow and arrow into place in one fluid motion and wait. Holding my breath, waiting for Haemosu to leap out in one of his strange forms. But nothing happens. The room is empty. I lower the bow, glad it’s in perfect condition. Maybe it really is the true Blue Dragon bow.
I race outside the throne room into the courtyard. All I can think about is Komo, Marc, and Grandfather and if they’re safe. If they’re still alive.
“Jae!”
Marc’s voice.
I skid to a stop and swing around to see Marc and Grandfather trapped in a bamboo cage at the other end of the courtyard. I race toward them. Their clothes are shredded, and the side of Marc’s face is caked with blood. Grandfather is lying still, curled up in the small space. My heart slams inside my chest like someone kicked me. This is what they get for helping me? I should never have allowed this to happen.
“Jae Hwa!” Marc says, falling to his knees, his hair a wild mess. “What happened? You’re supposed to be in Japan.”
“I’m so sorry, Marc.” I hunch down and grab hold of the bars. “How is Haraboji?”
Marc shakes his head. “Not good. Haemosu brought him here only recently. He hasn’t woken up yet.”
I swallow back tears and lift my chin. “I’m going to get you out. I’m going to fix all this.” I run my hands over the cage’s edge in search of the lock, but the bamboo runs smooth and unending under my fingertips.
“You won’t find any locks,” Marc says, “if that’s what you’re looking for.”
“Have you seen Komo?”
He looks away. I grip the bars tighter to stop myself from going into complete panic mode. I can’t think about what that look means.
“He’s been using the life energy of your ancestors’ souls to become more powerful,” Marc says. “And he thinks that with you as his queen, no one can cross him.”
“That’s why he was able to come out at night?”
“I got the feeling that he wasn’t telling me everything.”
I stand up. “Move back,” I say.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting you out.” I bring my hand up and slice it down on the top bamboo pole of the cage, pulling all my energy into the motion. The bar splits, but not enough to break. I prepare for another thrust.
“Hide!” Marc whispers, his eyes focused on something behind me. “He’s coming.”
A tingling sound fills the air, and I know Haemosu is near. He’s already sensed my presence, I’m sure of it, so hiding isn’t an option. I swivel around, pulling out my bow and arrow. I take my mark.
“Well, well,” Haemosu says, appearing from nowhere and strolling up to us casually, his red cloak billowing out behind him. “My princess has arrived. I have been expecting you.”
Apparently he has, because he’s all dressed up. His silk tunic shimmers in different shades of blue as the light reflects against him. The tunic, with wide sleeves that flare out at the wrist, flows down to his feet, the front and back cut apart; and I can see he’s wearing black pants underneath. The white sash around his waist holds the tunic tight against him and accentuates the five golden dragons twisting to form a circle on his chest. On his head he wears a golden band with a mini crown resting on his topknot, a dragon-headed pin sliced through it.
“I am pleased to see you have realized your destiny is with me,” Haemosu says. “My kingdom is more complete when you are here.”
“You have two choices,” I say, my string taunt and ready.
He raises his eyebrows and rubs his chin. “Choices? How intriguing.”
“Let Marc and my family go and release the spirits of my ancestors, or I’ll send this arrow through your heart.”
“Dearest, dearest princess. You must know you cannot kill me. I am immortal. A spirit of the wind.”
To demonstrate, he lifts up in the air, golden dust spiraling under him. His image seems to grow larger and larger until it fills my whole vision and all I can hear is his booming laugh. And then in a blink he’s back to his normal smirking self, standing in front of me.
“And do not worry your little head about that bothersome Haechi. I have made sure he will be too busy to join us.”
What has Haemosu done?
“Look carefully, Haemosu,” Marc says, his fists clenched by his sides. “Her bow bears the symbol of the Blue Dragon. An arrow released from it will kill you.”
“Who are you to know of such things?” he says, staring at Marc, eyes blazing like dragon-fire. “You are nothing to me. Besides, I have a great ally, one who has shown me how to increase my power. And with my princess at my side, I will be indestructible.”
“I will never be at your side,” I say. “Now give me your answer!”
“You want an answer? Experience my answer!”
Sparks burst from Haemosu’s body, crackling in white and gold. His figure writhes and twists until he’s morphed into a wingless dragon as tall as the palace walls, golden scaled with large, crimson eyes. His four golden claws scrape the brick path and rip it to shreds.
A blast of fire shoots from the dragon’s mouth, and I know what to do.
I hold out my hand and push the fire around me.
I’m so shocked at what I had just done, I nearly drop my bow. I reposition it, notch in an arrow, and let it loose. Too late. The tip flicks off his scaly armor just as Marc’s and Grandfather’s cage catches fire. The flames feast hungrily on the bamboo.
“Marc! Haraboji!” I race to them.
Marc pulls Grandfather into the corner while I thrust the side of my hand at the bamboo until a chunk breaks off the top of the cage. My skin singes from the heat. Marc rips off his shirt and starts beating the flames with it. Finally the cage breaks. Marc grabs Grandfather under the arms and drags him off to the side.
“Keep him safe!” I yell to Marc.
Haemosu’s dragon body shakes, and he whips his head around, looking for prey. He rears over Marc and Grandfather.
“No!” I scream. As my words echo through the courtyard, the trees bend and shiver as if responding to my voice.
The power of the land draws to me. Haemosu blinks. I notch an arrow into my bow and send it flying. It hits his face. With a screech, the dragon rears, eyes focused on me. I don’t stop.
One arrow.
Then another, and another, fast like the wings of a hummingbird until my goong dae is empty. The dragon lifts up a four-clawed paw and swipes at me. I leap backward.
The dragon shakes once, and the arrows fall to the ground. A growl-like laugh erupts from the dragon’s throat. His scales must be steel.
It appears you were wrong, my princess, Haemosu says in my mind.
I lower my bow, frowning. Am I wrong? Is the Blue Dragon bow only a myth?
The dragon sucks in air and blows. Flames stream from his mouth. I tumble to the ground as the fire chases me. I can’t control it. His power is too much for me. And after watching the bow fail I don’t know where to turn next.
The rules of metamorphosis state that I must become stronger than the dragon to defeat him. But every time I’m morphed I’ve screwed it up somehow. Doubt tears through me, weakening my knees.
If I lose this time I lose everything. Komo, Marc, Grandfather, my ancestors, myself. And the curse will live on in the next generation of my family.
What is stronger than a dragon? Nothing, I think. Nothing can possibly be stronger than a dragon.
And then a new thought
strikes me, and I stand up straighter, half frozen. I hold up the amulet by its chain and stare at the figure on it. It rotates slowly, its bronze glinting in the sun.
The samjoko.
Marc’s words come back to me: It is considered to be more powerful than the dragon or phoenix.
I clutch the amulet in my hand and spread out my arms, lifting my head toward the sky. I think of Mom and her steady belief in God. Of Komo saying that disbelief is the root of the impossible. Of Marc’s faith in me. I need to believe like they do. Can I?
Closing my eyes, I feel the power grow within me, stretching and pulling and twisting like fire rushing through me until it’s larger than I could ever imagine. I open my eyes.
And blink.
I am a crow, as black as midnight. A crow with three feet and glittering diamond claws. I stretch out my wings; they’re as wide as a small building.
A samjoko.
The impossibility of what I’ve just done drags at my mind and shakes my belief. My body trembles, and I feel the morph reverting back to my human self. No. I can’t let myself change back. I will myself to hold on to this image.
Haemosu roars and charges at me in his dragon state. I screech back, my voice shaking the ground, and sail up in the air. The dragon skids in his tracks and follows me into the sky. More flames shoot from his mouth. I twist and turn, lithe and strong, until I’m behind him, safe from his fire.
He swipes his long scaly tail against my wing. I’m flung through the air and smash onto the tiled roof of the palace, its clay pieces splintering and shattering as they fall to the ground. Everything blurs. My stomach slides along the roof as I plummet toward the ground. The tiles scrape my skin, and I can feel myself bleeding.
I lie on the ground, writhing, unable to get up. Have I lost already? My vision darkens, and that tingling, morphing sensation ripples through me once again. I’m shape-shifting back into a human. I try to pull myself up, try to stop the transformation, but I can’t focus.
You are hopeless against me, the dragon says.
Then another voice speaks. Rise up, Jae Hwa! Rise!
Those words snap my brain into focus. A rush of adrenaline surges through me. I can push through the pain. I will not let Haemosu win. I pump my wings and rocket up in the air, throwing myself into an aerial over his oncoming tail. He turns to fly at me.
It’s exactly what I expected him to do. Remembering the fire-breathing monster I had faced before, I twist around and ram my beak at his eye. He screeches in agony, fire flaming from his mouth. His scream is so loud, the buildings shake.
My wing has caught fire. I refuse to stop. I jam my beak into his other eye.
Haemosu flails and then drops to the ground in a heap, thrashing across the dirt. I fling myself to the ground, too, rolling across it to put out the fire on my wing. Pain shoots through me with such intensity that I can only think of the burn. But the pain gradually subsides, and by the time I’m back on my three clawed feet, it’s gone.
So this is what immortality is like, I think.
Then it hits me: if I’m healing this quickly, so must Haemosu.
His head rises; I dive at him and rip apart the scales covering his heart with my diamond talons.
Then I close my eyes and focus on my own form. My body contorts and alters. A chill sweeps over me, then a racking twist.
I’m my human self again. I stagger and fall to the ground, gagging on bile. My body shakes and my vision shifts, but I must complete the task I know now I’m destined for. I reach out and mentally command the dragon bow and an arrow to come to me. They fly into my hand. I grind my teeth together to stop my trembling. I notch in the arrow, draw the string, and aim directly where the scales have been ripped away.
At Haemosu’s heart.
I let loose.
The arrow sails through the air and sinks into the dragon’s soft skin. He cries out and crumples into a heap at my feet. In a funnel of wind, Haemosu whirls back to his human form. His body turns pukish green.
So the legend of the Blue Dragon is true.
“Kud! Help me!” Haemosu cries out, his voice echoing across the palace grounds. “You promised this time it would work. You promised.”
I glance around, wondering why he’s crying out to the Immortal of Darkness. But no one else is here, just Haemosu and me. Haemosu moans and looks at me with glazed eyes.
“How could you, Yuhwa?” he asks. “You were the one. We were destined to be together forever. It was to be our wedding day, my princess.”
He stretches out his hand toward me. It shakes with the effort. A light wind kicks up, and I look down to see I’m wearing a hanbok. The skirt is cherry red, with green and gold edging along the bottom. I reach up and touch a crown set where my hair is parted down the middle and pulled back into a bun. So this is Haemosu’s last act. Determined even in his final moments to make me his bride.
“I am not Yuhwa, and I will never be your bride,” I say, watching his body shrivel.
“So be it.” His words come out slow and shaky, and full of resentment. “But your aunt and ancestors will always be mine.”
“What did you say?” My heart begins to race because I know what he means. Komo and my ancestors are still trapped in that awful queen’s palace. Perhaps forever.
“Mine.” He grins painfully. “Always mine.”
A gargling sound emits from his throat, and his hand drops. His eyes grow wide, no longer dark but filmy white. His body stills.
I grab his tunic and shake his body. “Don’t you dare do this to me!” I yell. “Let them go. You have to let them go!”
But it’s too late. Haemosu’s skin fades to a pale white and crumbles into dust. A gust of wind sweeps past, catching up the dust, and carries it away. The dragon bracelet on my wrist breaks in half and falls to the ground. The skin underneath is chaffed and raw, but I’m free.
I sink to the ground, my red dress puffed up around me as I watch Haemosu’s ashes drift away.
I can’t believe that Haemosu has won.
Marc staggers toward me, supporting Grandfather, who is now conscious. Both their faces are ashen, and Grandfather’s eyes are wet.
“I am so proud of you, Jae Hwa,” Grandfather says. “You did what no other woman in our family history could do.”
Marc sits next to me, takes my hand, and squeezes it hard. “You did it.”
I stare at them. “Komo is in the queen’s palace, isn’t she?” When neither of them answers, I bury my head in my hands. The sobs pour out of me. It’s like Mom’s death all over again. I’m reliving it. The pain. The defeat. The emptiness.
“No.” I shake my head and stand, clenching my fists. I strap my bow over my back and snatch up my arrows strewn across the ground. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. When Haemosu dies, so does his power. I’m sure of it.”
Grandfather and Marc look away, as if they can’t bear the truth either. I take off through the courtyard and down the path that leads to the queen’s palace.
“Where are you going?” Marc calls after me.
“To the queen’s palace,” I say.
I’m going to free Komo.
The queen’s palace lies in ruins, just like the first time I entered Haemosu’s world and saw its reality. Groans and cries fill the air.
My ancestors are still trapped inside. Haemosu was telling the truth. I was wrong. Again.
My knees buckle, and I sink to the grass. I’m pulled back to the day Mom left. She wanted her last hours to be in her own bed, holding Dad’s and my hands. She got her wish. She died in peace. But I never found peace. I clutched her hand until it grew cold, promising myself I’d never allow that kind of pain to tear me apart again.
And here I am. Komo is in there, and I can’t bear the thought of losing her, too. Komo had believed there was a way to release our ancestors. I have to believe she was right, because I won’t just leave her. Because, unlike Mom’s illness, this time I have the power to fight it.
I hear foo
tsteps behind me, and I know Marc and Grandfather have finally caught up with me. I stand and take Marc’s hands. “I have to go inside and find Komo.”
The Adam’s apple on his throat moves, and his green eyes are set on mine. “You can’t,” he says. “You’ll die.”
“If I don’t come out, go back home. Don’t wait for me, okay?” I stand on my toes, brush my lips against his, tasting salt. I press the amulet into his hand. “In the throne room you’ll find the imprint of this amulet on a stand. Press the amulet in it, and you’ll get back home.”
“I’m not leaving without you.” As if to prove his point, Marc strides toward the gate, but he’s thrown backward to the ground as if there’s a giant force restraining him.
“You and I cannot enter,” Grandfather says. “I have tried before.”
I stare at Grandfather. “You have?”
He nods. “Sun. With Sun I tried.” Then he pulls me into a hug. In that moment we understand each other perfectly. All this is so much more than just the two of us. It’s crazy how different today is compared to our first meeting at the Silla Hotel. He pulls back, and even though there are tears in his eyes, I can see fire in them, too.
I face the palace, but Marc grabs my arm. “No.” His voice sounds panicked. “Don’t. There’s got to be another way.”
I think back to the Tiger of Shinshi’s words. He said my weapons were meaningless here. That there’s only one way for me truly to defeat Haemosu.
Sacrifice.
I shiver at that thought but push it away. I couldn’t bear living the rest of my life leaving Komo behind.
“There isn’t.” My face is wet. “I have to save her. Save all of them.”
The gate’s presence tugs at me.
This time I don’t resist.
The air whooshes past my ears, and as I’m pulled into the queen’s palace, all color is replaced with grays and blacks. The space through which I was pulled is now a massive wall. I touch its cold stone, so similar to a tomb.
I start to panic. This is exactly what Haemosu wanted me to do. What if Haechi and Palk were wrong about opening the tomb? What if this is just one more thing I’ve been wrong about?
Gilded (The Gilded Series, Book One) Page 24